Aussie Hooping Returns: The 2020-21 NBL Season Tips Off 3 December

Sports, how we've missed you.

Good (sports) news comes in threes: Perth can welcome back crowds to AFL games at Optus Stadium in July, Australia and New Zealand will jointly host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the 2020 – 21 NBL season will tip off in December.

National Basketball League owner Larry Kestelman has announced that the upcoming season will commence "on or around" 3 December, with the season wrapping up in mid-to-late April 2021.

"We believe this gives us the best chance to be able to accommodate as many fans as possible into venues and gives some certainty for our Clubs, players, sponsors, venues and fans as they plan for next season," he added in a statement.

Like basically every other local and international sporting code, the NBL was rocked by the spread of coronavirus in March of 2020, with the finals series between the Perth Wildcats and Sydney Kings taking place before empty crowds until it was called off by the Kings’ early withdrawal over COVID-19 concerns. (Wildcats, who led the series, were subsequently dubbed champions.)

However, despite the coronavirus pandemic, the next season’s fixtures will only be delayed by two months. Compare that to the long-delayed NBA season in the United States, which is set to recommence on 31 July in a Florida bubble—though, that could be complicated by the current spike of COVID-19 cases across America.

There was uncertainty around the future of the NBL given the crisis, as the league and the Australian Basketball Players’ Association announced cuts to player’s salaries—leading to the exit of some notable free agents, including, briefly, the Cats’ Bryce Cotton—and the Illawarra Hawks going into administration. These were seen as massive setbacks for a league suddenly earning international recognition.

However, Cotton later re-signed with Perth and the Hawks scored a new owner. Combine that with this news of a December launch for the new season, and things are certainly looking a little rosier for the league, which will likely be able to welcome back crowds (and their resulting revenue) for its entire season, not to mention players who would otherwise have intended to play in other parts of the still-closed globe.

Of course, this all still depends on how Australia continues to handle the spread of coronavirus in the coming months, and before the arrival of a vaccine.

So, things could certainly change, but in the meantime: game on.